Monroe NY school bus drivers – unrecognized champions

Monroe NY school bus drivers are unrecognized champions as explained below.

A few days ago, our area was hit with a snowstorm.  It started in the early hours of the morning and was forecast to continue all day.  When I took our Siberian Husky Halo out for her morning walk, I noticed the school buses were on the road. I thought to myself, “What a crazy day for the buses to be out — I’m surprised school wasn’t canceled.”   At that time, the roads weren’t bad at all, but forecasts were dire.

At around 3:30 the same day, I took Halo out for her afternoon walk.  The world seemed entrenched in silence.  The snow was continuing to fall at a fast rate and there was no traffic on our roads. The roads were covered with snow and ice, and were definitely treacherous.  Then I heard an engine coming slowly up the hill behind me. I pulled Halo off the road so we would be safe as the person passed.

Up the hill came a big yellow school bus, empty of its charges. The bus garage is close to my home. Obviously, the bus driver was on her way back after a day of bringing her all the children in her care safely to their homes.   The bus crept up the street; probably going no more than 2 miles per hour.  Way before she needed to make her turn, the driver put on her signal. She slowly edged down the hill, making the turn carefully and safely.  And as she drove by me, I was able to see her face, full of concentration.  And her expression was shouting, “I’m almost there, I’m almost there.”

If you are a parent in the Monroe-Woodbury area, please know those bus drivers have a huge task each day of the school year. They work to keep the most important people in your life safe, and to return them safely to you.  This week, they were required to do a Herculean task. They had to drive their normal routes in conditions that kept most of us inside all day.  In fact, accidents were occuring all over the county all day, but all the children of our area were returned home safely.  Please make sure you thank the bus drivers, not only during the holidays, but on a regular basis.

They are truly the usually unrecognized champions of our town.